Page 34 of Seduced By the Mermen
Blair grabs her daughter’s hand and leans into her ear, whispering. “If you don’t want me to stay—” She gives her daughter a look I don’t understand. Is itlet me stay? I think it might be.
“No, Mom, get your hand looked at. We’ll see you at home later.”
It takes Annabelle taking Nico by the elbow to get him to stop his growling. And when their omada doors close, there are loud voices as it motors off the dock.
“Can we move off the dock?” Blair tries to get Grayson’s attention, but he’s too busy.
“Grayson?” I ask.
“Grayson!” Sterling hovers on the other side of Blair and our doctor.
“Yes.” He nods.
“Our apartment is this way.” I put my hand on Blair’s back to guide her, even as Grayson wiggles each finger. But Sterling picks her up.
“Goodness.” Blair’s feet swing with each of Sterling’s quick steps. “Again, it’s a hand, not a foot. I can walk.”
“Yes, but another group just made their way through the airlock.”
“And?” Blair asks.
“And we’re gathering a crowd already.” Sterling huffs. “It’s not safe to have you out in the open.”
Blair’s eyes widen, and she turns to me to confirm. “Wouldn’t it attract less attention if I was... I don’t know... walking, perhaps?”
“It’s best that you’re not out in the open,” Sterling says, not answering Blair’s question.
“Sterling. Put me down.”
Sterling stops and gently puts her feet on the dock. He never listens to anyone, and certainly not unless your tone matches his mood: dark.
Still walking, Blair tilts her head up at Sterling and then to Grayson. “I mean, I understand my daughter. But me?” Her uninjured hand comes to the middle of her chest. She continues past the back lobby door, where the fast elevator to our home resides.
“Yes, you, Blair.” Grayson pulls his attention away from her hand to her face. “I’d like to take you upstairs to get this cleaned out. Humans can get infections so easily.”
“Oh, yes. I should wash it.” She nods, continuing down the dock.
“This way, Blair.” I place my hand on the lower part of her back, guiding her in the opposite direction.
“Oh, this is the entrance? It didn’t look like one.”
Sterling’s got the door unlocked and open. He holds it for her to go through.
It’s utilitarian. Unlike the sleek, brilliant two-story lobby that shines on the other side of the dome, this one’s dark and small and just big enough for the seven of us. When we’re all here. Luckily, it only serves a handful of homes. Though, more thanonce, we’ve had to pour out onto the dock to let the passengers from another pod into the lobby. The doors slide open, and the car is mercifully empty.
Blair steps in, and the three of us follow. “There’s only three buttons?”
“It services three pods.” Grayson pushes our button. The other two buttons are labeled for the other two pods. It shakes when it starts.
“Oh, is . . . is it safe?” she asks.
“That’s it going through the airlock,” I say.
Blair’s eyes widen as her neck cranes up.
Sterling’s jaw ticks. He’s got a whale of an issue. He’s always got a whale of an issue. He pushes the stop button as soon as the car breaks through the airlock. The afternoon lights of the city twinkle at the open windows in front of us.
Blair takes a step back. “Why did you do that?”
